Eastertide

May 20, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
   sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
   listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
   whose majesty is over Israel;
   and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
   the God of Israel;
   he gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God! –Psalm 68:32-35

I did not wake up this morning ascribing power to God. I was letting all the mess that is going on around me sap me of my strength, draining me of hope, making me feel helpless. The fault lies with a possum. It wandered into my attic or my crawl space a few days ago. I was busy and hoped it would wander out and not come back, but it did return. I called and made an appointment for an animal removal service to rid me of my guest. They will be here tomorrow.  I fear though that the possum is now receiving the full thrust of my frustration from sheltering at home, trying to follow in Paul’s example being content in all circumstances*  and failing miserably. I was not ready for the upbeat Psalm above, telling me to sing and listen and ascribe power to God, and it was exactly what I needed. Paul recognized and depended on the power of God.

We all, I am sure, are having good days and bad, as we track the news, rearrange routine activities to protect ourselves and others from the spread of COVID 19, and deal with the pesky possums of life that often arrive at inconvenient times. Now is the time, if ever there was one, to awaken to the awesomeness of God and accept his gift of power and strength. Blessed be God!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your sustaining gifts that we somehow fail to see when we need them most. Amen.

*See Philippians 4:11-13

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.